page_title: Outline of Pennsylvania
section_title: Administrative divisions of Pennsylvania
hierarchical_section_title: Outline of Pennsylvania / Geography of Pennsylvania / Regions of Pennsylvania / Administrative divisions of Pennsylvania
caption_attribution_description: English: Pennsylvania county map
context_page_description: The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the United States Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the fifth most populous of the 50 states of the United States of America. Pennsylvania lies west of the Delaware River in the Mid-Atlantic United States.
  King Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter for a Colony of Pennsylvania in 1681. Philadelphia, the capital of the colony, soon rose to become the most populous city of British America. As Britain attempted to tighten its grip on its American colonies, many prominent Pennsylvanians called for greater independence for British America. The upper and lower counties of Pennsylvania joined eleven other British colonies in declaring their autonomy with signing of the United States Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.
  The newly independent state chose the moniker "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" as a token of its prominence and autonomy in the Americas. The American states prevailed in the American War of Independence which concluded with the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
context_section_description: The 67 Counties of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  Municipalities in Pennsylvania
  Cities in Pennsylvania
  State capital of Pennsylvania:
  City nicknames in Pennsylvania
  Sister cities in Pennsylvania
caption: An enlargeable map of the 67 counties of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
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